Dive deep into personal development tailored for successful leaders ,whether you are a leader of an organization or businesses or community.  Embrace the journey full of multiple and lasting transformations which bring you  internal fulfilment and goes beyond the superficial fixes.

I. Presenting the Paradox of External Success vs. Internal Struggle

You live in a world where the glory of external success often masks your internal struggle. That struggle that so many high performers and high achievers feel every second of the day. You have painted the mask on very tightly. 

And although you sometimes forget that it is a mask, you cannot escape this unique dilemma. This article explores your deep desire to go on a journey where you can find yourself and sustain success which is felt internally aka fulfillment.

This, I argue, can only be done by embarking on the personal alchemy journey which requires you to dive deep beyond the realm of personal development.

II. Recognizing the Facade

The Dichotomy Between Public Image and Private Reality

Despite achieving great levels of success, I know you as a high performing leader  struggle with feeling unfulfilled. Your fame and fortune has left you feeling alone and empty and you feel disconnected from your real self. You know the success you have achieved is actually a façade.

The success you achieved is glittering but not fulfilling.

The good news is many high achievers like you grapple with the same unseen dichotomy: your fame and fortune does not equate to fulfillment. Yes all that glitters is not gold. The good news is you are not alone.

To attain fulfillment one of the first steps you can take is SLOW down and SIMPLIFY to really find your true self.

This may feel counterintuitive but it really will help you.

And when you travel WITH me on this personal alchemy journey that is what happens…you rip the facade, you shatter the illusion and reveal who you really are and what you really want.

The personal alchemy journey is not personal development, it is much deeper than that.

It requires you to take a leap of faith and dive deep into the depths of your psyche, in other words your soul.

III. The Fear of Vulnerability

Confronting Deep-Seated Fears and Vulnerabilities

I know for you as a leader you have a a fast paced life and you are in the public eye.

You have a public image to maintain.

To actually dive deep into your soul you know that means you will face your vulnerabilities.

Yes this requires courage.

Courage is not the absence of fear but feeling fear and doing it anyway especially when fears run deep. 

You as a high performing Leader have taken risks and been courageous multiple times but  engaging in profound therapeutic work for yourself you find daunting.

But THIS is where your personal growth lies and where you will find fulfillment…..once you engage in this therapeutic work then you find you free yourself from having to maintain a facade and you find some peace.

I want to tell you that this personal alchemy journey i.e this deep therapeutic work you will not be taking alone.

You will be taking it WITH me.

This is not SELF HELP or SELF CARE

The process requires us MULLING together to ascertain why the world sees you as successful but you do not FEEL it.

I will guide you along this journey and be with you when you face your vulnerabilities.

I know you are used to projecting an image of being a strong leader and sharing your vulnerabilities is alien territory for you but I promise to do so that respects your privacy and is boundaried and is delivered at a pace that fits your busy lifestyle.

IV. Relationship Dynamics

Impact of Internal Discord on Personal Relationships

Internal turmoil can severely impact one’s personal relationships. You are aware of this when it comes to professional relationships. Yet you do not have the bandwidth to recognise how it is affecting your personal relationships, the really close ones. We will delve into how to maintain a healthy family work life balance and how the internal turmoil inside you is affecting your intimate relationships and causing discord and distance and we will explore tools for fostering deeper emotional connections with loved ones.

In fact the exploration of the emotional connections of all your relationships both personal and professional ones is an activity we will do in detail.

I call this the identity alchemy journey.

All of your relationships are explored each and everyone including the one with yourself and with God when you take this journey.

V. Holistic Health Management

Prioritizing Mental and Physical Health Amidst The Pressures of Leadership 

The pressures of leadership can often mean we sacrifice our health. This section of the article will highlight how when you create a sanctuary an exclusive space just for you this can be a space  where you can rejuvenate. Stress is not allowed to enter this Space. This Sanctuary is a really innovative way of managing stress and preventing burnout which many high achievers suffer from. Building times and spaces where no one else enters is a holistic health management strategy and a core ingredient  for sustained personal performance.

Building a Sanctuary is one of the key activities during the practical alchemy journey.

You see I have found when working with high achievers and high performers that after doing all that exploring of all the relationships some time alone really is a practical way of recovering and rejuvenating especially when you have not done it before.

VI. Moving Beyond Superficial Strategies

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Personal Development Practices

I am sure that you have found with all the personal development courses and rituals and practices you have invested in that not one gave you lasting fulfillment. As a busy high performing professional, you know if you truly evaluated the huge amount of time and money you will realise the strategies you learnt were superficial and not as effective.

Compare this to Asma* my client who decided to invest in working with me and was brave enough to face her vulnerabilities and explore in depth her relationships. She worked with me for 18 months. By the end of that period she was no longer depressed, suicidal and was pain free and steroid medication free and happily married and enjoying being with her friends and family. Asma experienced not just one transformation but multiple. When she started working with me she was on a liquid diet due to her Crohn’s disease. She had been living like this for several years before she found me. After working with me for 18 months she was eating solid foods. She found JOY.

Asma is a successful professional leading her organisation in the latest IT technologies. 

Before she met me in January 2019 she purchased so many Online personal development courses, many were self help but she did not have the motivation to log in and watch the videos. She read so many blogs. She even engaged in email therapy.

Asma* was listening to so many different healers, coaches and consultants she actually was becoming a personal development addict.

Many high performers suffer from personal development addiction. 

Although some of these courses can lead to more success and better performance and more productivity, I wonder is it effective in leading you to having a balanced life or a peaceful life or a life where you feel fulfilled?

VII. Conclusion

Embracing the Journey Towards a Fulfilled Life

Asma* is a case study that illustrates that when we explore our relationships in depth WITH a skilled professional then we really GROW.

As high performers and high achievers we often think we are investing in personal growth by investing in personal development but this is usually far from the truth.

Transformation can only arise when we travel the path less travelled as M Scott Peck says in his famous book The Road Less Travelled. This path I call the personal alchemy journey and then this leads onto exploring in depth all our relationships and what I refer to as the identity alchemy journey.

These journeys are more fulfilling because they require a holistic approach and many personal development  courses do not use a holistic approach and usually brush the surface of issues.

In conclusion, when you take the personal alchemy journey and the identity alchemy journey i.e this leap of faith, success is not only achieved externally but felt from deep within.

The transformations as you can see from Asma’s case are experienced physically, emotionally and spiritually.

*Means fictional name but real living person who wants to remain anonymous.

FAQs:

1. What are common signs that a successful individual is struggling internally?
   The disconnect between your public success and private discontent.
2. How can one overcome the fear of vulnerability to engage in deeper personal development?
   Take the practical step to seek the assistance of a skilled professional like a Therapist and or a Consultant who works therapeutically and in a holistic way instead of purchasing another personal development course.
3. What are some practical steps to improve personal relationships for busy professionals?
   Explore in depth the emotional connections between all your relationships WITH a skilled professional like a Therapist or a Consultant who works therapeutically and in a holistic way.
4. How as high performing leaders can we manage stress and prevent burnout?
   By creating regular times and spaces for ourselves and building an exclusive sanctuary that is just for us.
5. What are some innovative strategies that successful people can use to achieve a more fulfilled and balanced life?
   Taking a leap of faith and choosing and investing in one skilled professional and meeting with them regularly rather than investing in multiple personal development courses. If you want to take that leap of faith with me and break a lifelong habit of purchasing personal development courses then book a Consultation with me.

Photo By Marissa Loewen